A customer presents a customer service agent with an issue. The customer service agent presents a solution to the customer. The customer is satisfied with the solution. What now? The customer is dissatisfied with the solution. What now?

In business, customer problems and complaints are inevitable. However, the steps we take to ensure customer satisfaction is what is most important. If customers' needs are not properly met, they will be less likely to continue to do business with your company. In this path, we will uncover best practices to certify that a customer problem or complaint was handled appropriately.

Step 1| Follow Up

After the customer's issue is solved, send the customer a brief email that confirms the issue was resolved and the solution presented. This provides a record of the situation, in case the issue needs to be revisited. This also lets the customer know that the company is committed to providing customers with quality service and care. In the unfortunate case that the issue was not resolved, skip to Step 2.

Step 2| Offer Another Solution & Follow Up

In the event that the customer's issue was left unresolved, there are two options. The first option is to revisit the issue and offer another solution to the customer. If the issue is resolved to the customer's satisfaction, send a follow up email to the customer as mentioned in Step 1. If the issue was still not resolved, send an email to the customer restating the events that transpired. Having this in writing is important because if an issue of this kind is presented again in the future, you will be well aware of how to handle the situation.

Step 3| Reflect & Learn From Customer Complaints

Customer complaints are uncomfortable for both the customer and the customer service agent solving the issue. The customer wants the issue resolved as quickly as possible and the agent wants the customer to be happy as quickly as possible. Although these situations can be frustrating, customer issues and complaints can often provide insight about an aspect of the business that needs improvement. The activities below explain how complaints can actually be beneficial for business.